Ramona - Our Rainy Night Surprise

John was driving home the other night in a terrible rain storm (the kind with thunder & lightening)  when he spotted a tiny dog in the middle of the road. He stopped (Yes, he is a REAL MAN!)  & managed to get a hold of her even though she was running around in confused terror, screaming & biting. He took her straight to our vet who examined her & gave her all the essentials so she could come home. Since then, we have been checking the lost & found ads etc but no one is missing Ramona, and quite frankly, they can't have her back!

Ramona is a 6-7 lb un-spayed pure bred Chihuahua that has apparently escaped from or been discarded from a back yard puppy mill. She has no experience being touched by humans and for the first few days she was here I thought we'd have to euthanize her because she was living in pure terror w/ no quality of life. When I moved her she would bite, scream & her bowels & bladder would release out of pure intense fear. She has no idea that doggies are supposed to go potty on grass and not just wherever they happen to be standing at the moment, is terrified about being removed from a crate or box of any kind, is just learning how to drink from a water dish - I guess some puppy mills give water through rodent-style drip bottles - and has sores on her behind and back legs as well as some deformity on one of her back feet. Apparently, a lot of these behaviors, conditions are very common for puppy mill dogs.

Over the weekend I spend hours just sitting near Ramona, talking a little to her but mostly just reading or working on my lap top, giving her only brief eye contact. After a few days of this she stopped shaking so much & moved a little closer. But then I had to leave for awhile & we were right back to the beginning. She had forgotten I just might be safe.

I was beginning to think this little one should be allowed to go to sleep forever to escape her miserable fearful life, when she took steps toward me, and then more consistently. And then, one day, she carefully got on my lap!

Even though she is still terribly afraid & shaking, little R. continues to try. She is so brave that I have informed her that she is now named "Ramona the Rock Star". Ha! In just a few days, she is letting me carefully pick her up, walking on a leash with me (sort of), and learning to like a chin scratch & a little massage. This is HUGE and I am not sure that her results are typical of a terrified puppy mill survivor. This girl wants to live & she wants to be a pet.  

Am I going to keep her? Will I find her a home? I don't know yet and I'm trying not to pressure myself to decide so soon. She isn't adoptable yet anyway, with her severe fear and lack of house training & needs to be spayed etc. I'm just trying to enjoy the process of seeing her find freedom a little more each day. It's wonderful! :)

... a weary and frightened Ramona, who keeps trying anyway...

Ramona was hiding under the bed, shaking with fear, when Jake (also a rescue dog that is my dearly loved pet now) went over and lay down beside her. His quiet presence seemed to comfort her. Isn't is cool how God can use simple creatures like dogs? I LOVE it!